Field of Glory: Kingdoms

My problem with this game is that pretty much every match ends up playing the same doesnt matter what nation you play has, so if you pick florence for example, you gotta either focus on taking out HRE or the byzantines because they will win basically doing nothing and if your nation is far away from those then you are screwed, you would have to sail and invade them instead of being more realistic and focus more in your own region, the game has more buildings than Empires but most of them are pointless bloat that you end skipping since authority buildings are more important so every region ends up being the same too

Again another game i've played more on the forum / site version than on steam, would recommend to anyone who loves war games

The UI of this game is ridiculous. From barely readable white text on grey backgrounds, to scripted fonts one level removed from Comic Sans, to ornately decorated windows and buttons that detract from usability. rather than add anything meaningful to the ambience of the game, I want to love the game, but I spent more time fighting it than playing it,

After a bit of thought, have to put it as a negative. The base game sorely needs actual differences between factions, more unit variety and more meaningful decsions and it seems like those will only partially come via DLC's. You have to own yet a seperate second game for this to have a chance of being worth it, and even then I am not the largest fan of how they implemented the export battles. Probably the biggest problem is how the world feels unalive. They detatched many ostensible decisions to the AI, and then made it so completely non-interactive and meaningless that after a while I could care less whether one leader was ousted or whoever sat on the HRE throne.

I tried several times to get into this game but got frustrated with something or other and gave up. But I kept coming back. One time it just clicked, I finally understood the mechanics enough to enjoy the game, and really like it now. They're a small studio, so quality of life and transparency are a bit lacking but the depth of the game more than make up for it. What I like most: - Mechanics that make it harder to paint the map. I like playing "tall" i.e. have a small area but build it up well, and this game allows me to do that. - The authority mechanic. Took me a while to appreciate this. Essentially factions are ranked based on their authority, and those with low authority can end up regressing to worse forms of government, (that get penalties to loyalty, authority, military quality etc.). - Troops require Manpower to recruit and repair, and those that are heavily armed also require metal to build and repair. Producing manpower and metal require certain structures that take up slots in your regions that could otherwise be used for buildings that produce food, money, etc. So there's a tradeoff if you want to be a warmonger. - The Decision system. These are like special actions that you may get, eg recruit special units, or spend money to develop a particular region, or recruit a priest. Best thing is, you can sell those you don't need in exchange for resources. So they don't go to waste. Also, it's not all down to randomness. You can spend money to alter the chances of each decision. E.g. my regions are all size 10+ and i need a second priest in all of them: so I spend money to increase the chance of getting the recruit priest decision, and over time I'll be able to recruit more priests. - Pops have religions and culture, and will generate more unrest if conquered by a foreign power. So it's worth spending time converting their religion (using piety) and their culture (using stewardship?), before continuing your conquests. - It rarely feels like a slog. When first started, I was just pressing end turn a lot and waiting until something happens. Now each turn I spend time planning: should I send this neighbour a gift and try to vassalise and peacefully absorb them? should I spend authority to build a building not currently on offer? which Decions do I need and is it worth spending money to increase their likelihood? Should I alter my pop allocation? Should I focus my regions on improving my fortification levels to generate more authority? Do any of my characters give bonuses to a region/province, if they are a governor or a general stationed there? Lots of depth to ponder. What I dislike most is the lack of transapency but this is mitigated by very active forums and developers who are still responding quickly to queries multiple times a day, a year after the game has been released. The AI turns can seem slow, eg 90 seconds. So I like to play this game whilst exercising. So end my turn, go do one set of dumbbells, come back and take my next turn. Overall, if you have some patience and don't mind learning through trial and error, then I can highly recommend this game.

This game has the tightest mechanics of any grand strat game that I've yet played. The only thing that I really wish would happen (along with FoG:E) is that the graphics get a polish up. I know that gameplay > graphics, but it really is bland to look at the campaign map, sometimes, despite the great artwork for everything else. Game is still great but a facelift would be a missive booster! Being able to export battles to Fog: Medieval is brilliant, although not essential as the game has a brilliant autoresolve function, as well. PS: I have around 20 hours of this on a non steam version.

I've been enjoying the game a lot - it feels a lot like a turn-base Europa Universalis, only with differences and alterations, and I generally find those changes to be for the better and make for a more enjoyable experience overall. The devs are active and helpful as well - I had a question on the steam forum and one of them answered fairly quickly with info that probably can't be found anywhere else. If you're at all on the fence and enjoy these styles of games, I highly recommend this game.

Kingdoms has a steeper learning curve than Empires, and info is harder to find. However, if you stick with it and every thing clicks, it has a great flow and is addicting. The in game battle system is the best in any GSG, easy to understand but still has some tactics to it. The map is massive and you will only really play in one area per play through, so it has lots of replayability.

I’ve had a lot of fun in my first 440 turn campaign, playing at the 3rd difficulty level. I played a De Hauteville parody where I helped the brothers spread from a couple of regions in southern Italy, into Sicily, then on to Constantinople (to honour William’s ambition). I didn’t attack the Papal States though or capture the pope like the brothers did. I relived Bohemond’s land-grab during the first crusade (I sent my own ships down to Antioch and took it while the crusaders pushed further south to Jerusalem) then went a bit off-history by spreading my Sicilians across North Africa - because my nation was making multiple claims there?! I then allied with Castille to help them spread the Christian faith into southern Spain, but they turned on me which started a full-on 150 turn war against my fellow Christians that ended up pushing them right up into France. I can’t wait to start the new bombard campaign, turn the difficulty up to the next notch and see what I can do with the English.